ETSU guard Tim Smith was selected the SoCon's freshman of the year by the league's coaches and media.

Monday, March 03, 2003

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (March 4, 2003) - The honors keep coming for East Tennessee State men's basketball players Tim Smith (Newport News, Va.) and Zakee Wadood (Lonoke, Va.).
Smith, who was voted the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year by the league's sports information directors on Sunday, received the same honor from the league's media on Monday. The 5-foot-9 guard is the league's leading freshman scorer, picking up an average of 14.4 points a contest. He currently ranks third in scoring for the Bucs, and is 18th in the nation with 2.5 steals per contest. The last Buccaneer to be named freshman of the year was ETSU great Greg Dennis in 1987-88.
Meanwhile, Wadood, who was honored as an All-SoCon selection by the league's coaches, was picked as a second-team player in the media voting. The 6-foot-5 forward is currently second on the team with 14.5 points per game and leads the Bucs with 7.6 rebounds a contest. He is also third in the nation with 3.2 steals a game and leads ETSU with 2.2 blocks per contest.
ETSU, which is 17-10 overall, 11-5 in SoCon action, returns to play Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament at the North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, S.C. At approximately 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, the No. 2-seeded Bucs will face the winner of the Wofford-UNC Greensboro game scheduled for Wednesday.
2003 Southern Conference Media All-SoCon TeamPlayer of the year - Troy Wheless, College of Charleston
Freshman of the year - Tim Smith, ETSU
Coach of the year - Houston Fancher
First team
Troy Wheless, College of Charleston
Karim Souchu, Furman
Julius Jenkins, Georgia Southern
Kevin Martin, Western Carolina
Shawn Hall, Appalachian State
Second teamZakee Wadood, East Tennessee State
Ashley Champion, Chattanooga
Wayne Bernard, Davidson
Radee Skipworth, VMI
Mike Lenzly, Wofford
Third team
Graham Bunn, Appalachian State
Thomas Mobley, College of Charleston
Guilherme Da Luz, Furman
James Maye, UNC Greensboro
Lee Nixon, Wofford